The Rose He Killed novel Chapter 33

Chapter 32: The Threat-1

Bella pov

+25 Points

“Not legally.” I looked at the photo again, zooming in on Tom’s happy face as he pointed at the lions. He’d been so excited about the zoo, so innocent and safe, and now Jade knew about him. Would use him to hurt me. “She’s playing with me. Letting me know she found my weak spot.”

Another text came through, and my stomach lurched. Does Caleb know about his son? Or are you keeping secrets, Bella? How like you very much.

The rage that flooded through me was so intense I saw red. My fingers flew across the keyboard before I could stop myself. Stay away from my son. I’m warning you, Jade. Stay away from him or I will destroy you.

The response came immediately.

Destroy me? With what? You’re nobody, Bella. Just a girl playing dress-up in expensive clothes. But don’t worry, I won’t tell Caleb about little Tom. Not yet. Where would be the fun in that? I want to watch you squirm first, watch you panic every time your phone buzzes, wondering if today’s the day your secret comes out. Sleep well, sister.

I wanted to throw my phone across the penguin exhibit. Wanted to scream until my voice gave out. Wanted to find Jade and make her understand exactly what happened to people who threatened my child.

But I was in public, surrounded by families and children, and the Iron Empress didn’t have meltdowns in zoo parking lots.

“We’re leaving,” I said to Maya, my voice cold and controlled. “Now.”

We made it to the car where Angela had Tom safely buckled in, happily eating the ice cream she’d promised. He looked up when I climbed in beside him, his grey eyes bright and

innocent.

“Mommy, why did we leave so fast? I didn’t get to see the monkeys.”

“Mommy has some work to handle, baby.” I pulled him close, breathing in his little-boy scent, reassuring myself he was safe. “But we’ll come back soon, I promise. We’ll see all the monkeys you want.”

“Can we see the giraffes too?”

“All the giraffes.” I kissed the top of his head, holding him tighter than necessary. “Every

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Chapter 32 The Threat-1

single one.”

+25 Points

The drive back was silent except for Tom’s chatter about the animals he’d seen. Maya kept glancing at me with worried eyes, and I knew we needed to talk, needed to figure out how to handle this. But not in front of Tom.

Once we were back in the penthouse suite, Angela took Tom to his room to play while Maya and I sat in the living room with the door closed. “She knows,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper. “Jade knows about Tom, and she’s threatening to tell Caleb.”

“Then tell him first.” Maya’s response was immediate. “Take away her leverage. Tell Caleb yourself before she can use it against you.”

“And say what? ‘Hey, remember that baby you told me to abort? Surprise, he’s three years old and you’ve missed everything because you’re a monster who threw us away?” I laughed, bitter and sharp. “That’s going to go so well.”

“Bella, you can’t keep running from this. Jade knows, which means Richard probably knows, which means it’s only a matter of time before the entire world knows. You need to control the narrative while you still can.”

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